Spike Lee Promises ‘Old Boy’ Will Feature a Diverse Cast

Spike Lee is known for being a lot of things, but few (no one?) would criticize him for creating “white-washed” portraits of America throughout his films. Lee is an indie cinema pioneer whose willingness to tackle racially-charged subject matter has remained constant, on through to his upcoming film, Red Hook Summer; even his genre efforts traditionally boast a diverse acting ensemble, as far as ethnicity goes (Clockers, Insider Man).

The Oldboy remake (going under the tweaked title Old Boy) is the next item on Lee’s docket. Josh Brolin is playing the protagonist, Joe Douchett, a weak-willed man imprisoned in a hotel room for nearly two decades. He emerges a hardened brute, tasked with discovering the reason for his punishment by his mysterious captor (Sharlto Copley).

Old Boy was a lightning rod for controversy well before Lee signed on as director. Steve Spielberg, at one point, had plans to team with Will Smith on the project, but that failed to pan out. Such filmmakers as Danny Boyle and Matthew Vaughn were shortlisted as propositions to take the helm about a year after Spielberg moved on; another eight months passed before Lee finally landed the job (and kicked the figurative hornet’s nest again).

A leaked casting cast for Old Boy is responsible for the latest wave of fan anger over the project. The call sheet features several roles that call for caucasian actors and actresses. However, descriptions for the few non-white supporting characters like an unnamed Asian woman (“mysterious exotic beauty”), a middle-aged African-American woman (“drug addicted nutcase”), and a Latino man (“bullishly strong street thug/criminal”) have some people up in arms.

Lee has already responded to the latest bit of Old Boy controversy on Twitter, saying:

People You Need To Relax.The Cast Of OLD BOY Will Be Diverse.If You Think Otherwise You Do Not Know My Work.Bother Other Directors ‘Bout Dat.

The filmmaker also addressed fan concerns over the racial stereotypes mentioned in the Old Boy casting list, saying that “all that stuff has been changed.” Moreover, the themes and characters in Korean director Park Chan-wook’s Oldboy (and the original Japanese manga) are partially rooted in Asian culture and history – though not so much that a respectful Americanized adaptation isn’t feasible.

Josh Brolin is Spike Lee’s ‘Old Boy’

Park’s film has earned a loyal cult following for its qualities as a (really) dark and harrowing examination of human nature, thanks to squirm-inducing plot twists and turns coupled with nightmarish, surreal, imagery (such as when the protagonist hallucinates ants crawling all over his body). Brolin has admitted to being nervous, but insists the script by Mark Protosevich (The Cell, Thor) offers a clever new take on that material.

That’s assuring to hear, as Lee has married filmmaking wizardry with lackluster scripts in the past; the final result has been movies that use Lee’s technical expertise as a crutch for messy storytelling (She Hate Me, Miracle at St. Anna). Old Boy is said to have a conclusion that’s even more shocking than its predecessor, so it’s all the more important that the buildup to that ending is solid.

Old Boy begins production this October in New Orleans, according to the casting sheet. We’ll let you know if that changes.